Broncos' Warren feeling like his old self

DT says he's healthy after full preseason

ENGLEWOOD -- Before every snap Ty Warren takes in practice and the preseason, he knows what it's supposed to feel like.

Even after two full seasons away from football because of hip and triceps injuries, Warren remembers how it feels to be one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen in the NFL.

Warren, a 31-year-old, 300-pound defensive tackle, knows enough to realize he's not that same player anymore. But after surviving his first complete preseason since 2009, Warren is confident that he is on his way back to becoming himself again.

"Mentally, it's been overcoming the mental nature of thinking that I'm going to return to the elite form right away. Football is still football, but I've had some humbling moments as I'm trying to learn the defense," Warren said. "I've had my missed assignments, thankfully in practice and not in a game. I think it's just mentally getting over the hump and putting things in perspective in knowing that this thing is going to be a progressive deal."

When Warren arrived in Denver as a free agent after the lockout a year ago, he brought with him a résumé that included 103 career starts and three Super Bowl rings from his eight seasons with the New England Patriots. A Broncos defense long missing a stalwart run stopper was hoping it had found its guy toanchor the middle of the defensive line, even if he had missed all of 2010 after undergoing surgery on his hip.

Then came the triceps injury. Before Warren had suited up for a single preseason game for the Broncos, his season was over.

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If there were concerns in 2011 about Warren's ability to return from injury, they were back tenfold during the offseason, as Warren skipped the Broncos' voluntary offseason workouts -- crucial time for the installation of new defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio's defense -- while he and the Broncos renegotiated his contract. He agreed to a one-year deal that would pay him less overall ($1.25 million compared with $4 million), but included $250,000 guaranteed.

"In a sense I came into a new system blind," Warren said.

Warren played defensive end in New England's 3-4 defense. In Denver, he is an interior tackle. Those significant scheme changes, combined with the physical challenges of missing two years, meant that Warren's progress didn't come as quickly as he or Broncos coaches might have wanted.

"The last couple of weeks have been more of what we're looking for from that position from him, so that's been good," Del Rio said last week. "From where we started to having the unknown to where we are now, I think it's been real positive."

When Warren was in contract discussions with the Broncos last spring, he was also in talks with the five women in his life -- his wife, Kesha, and their four daughters, who range in age from 2 to 10. The Broncos were asking Warren to take a pay cut, and he was trying to decide if it was worth sticking around.

Warren's daughters had grown used to having their dad around. A year ago, he volunteered at school, chaperoned field trips and watched the girls play lacrosse, softball, tennis and gymnastics. He finished his degree at Texas A&M in May 2011 -- fulfilling a promise he made to his grandparents and his favorite teacher from high school -- and took an internship with a property management company in Denver last fall to bide his time while he couldn't play.

Warren could picture his future, back on a ranch in Texas, after football. But he and his wife decided the best family decision was for him to keep playing.

"She thought it would be cool for them to see me play, you know? When they're old enough to understand," Warren said. " That was part of coming back."

It appears to be the right decision. Warren is one of two starting defensive tackles in the Broncos' base defense. He was one of the 25 players held out of Thursday's preseason finale at Arizona as the Broncos prepare for the Sept. 9 season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"The fact that he's coming back from two years off just shows how good he really he is, what kind of man he is, to be able to come back," said Justin Bannan, the Broncos' other starting defensive tackle. "Great player and a great guy, and hopefully he'll have a great year."

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